Nut and Cranberry Rolls

I love yeasted baked goods, especially when they are snail shaped. The different layers with different textures and flavours make them quite complex and still they are easy to prepare. With their soft dough and the sugary filling they are a great comfort food, especially in winter. Imagine you come home from a long walk on a sunny but cold afternoon and then these rolls are waiting for you. There’s really nothing better.

I had a box of frozen cranberries and threw them in because they add some great contrast to the sugary and crunchy filling of these rolls. The dough is made with one third of whole wheat flour, which makes it a bit chewier than it normally would be. And even though I am not a very big fan of chewy baked goods, I thought that in this case it was a perfect match.

In a large bowl combine the flours. Add milk and yeast and let sit for five minutes. Add remaining ingredients and knead well for five minutes. I do this straight in the bowl.

Shape the dough into a ball and cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place for 90 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. (By warm I mean room temperature in a room with the heating on.)

Combine all ingredients except for the cranberries and mix well. Set aside.

Grease a loaf pan.

Roll the dough into a rectangle (50 x 30 cm or 19.7 x 11.8 inches). Cut into four strips as shown in the picture below. Sprinkle the filling on top and leave a margin on each side.

Place about 10 cranberries on top of each strip but make sure they are not all in line, try to place them off-centre to the left and right. That way the snails will be easier to roll up and not all cranberries will be crowded in the middle.

Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).

Place the rolls in the loaf pan, cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for another 60 minutes.

Bake for 40 minutes and remove from oven. Let cool completely, remove from pan, and serve.

ooh that sounds so good – almost like marzipan – I love fancy yeasted breads and scrolls especially – we have a ‘traditional’ coffee scroll (with no coffee in it – I think it is to be eaten with coffee) in Australian bakeries that I loved and I think it means any scrolled sweet yeast bake makes me feel all happy and nostalgic – even these although I never had cranberries when growing up :-)

MihlJanuary 29, 2014 - 13:23

Yeah, I also never had cranberries when I grew up. We have a similar berry that is much smaller, but the fresh cranberries are always imported from the US.

They look absolutely gorgeous! I have been wanting to make something just like this with cranberries. There’s something so magical about snail-shaped baked goods. It makes them that much more appealing to me.

Spirally swirly baked treats are always so delicious…you’re right, the double whammy of warm bread and yumful filling is irresistible! I don’t have cranberries but I do have dried blueberries and cashews so I might need to do a blueshew version. Thanks for the recipe! :)